Tag: C&A

Lar España Secures Financing To Build Vidanova Parc Shopping Centre

22 September 2017 – Observatorio Inmobiliario

Lar España Real Estate has signed an agreement for the financing of the Vidanova Parc shopping centre located in Sagunto (Valencia). Under the terms of the contract, CaixaBank has granted the Socimi a €24 million loan to fund the construction of the shopping centre.

Building work on the shopping centre started in August last year, once the necessary preliminary phases had been completed to clean, prepare and urbanise the land. Vidanova Parc is expected to open its doors during the first half of 2018. The shopping centre will have a surface area of 120,000 m2, of which 44,252 m2 will be dedicated to retail and leisure. The centre will also have a car park with space for more than 2,300 vehicles.

Lar España says that more than 85% (of the space) at Vidanova Parc has already been leased. Specifically, the shopping centre’s future tenants include Leroy Merlin, Decathlon, C&A, Worten, Norauto, Burger King, Fifty Factory, Yelmo Cines and Urban Planet, along with another 30 brands to complement the food, sport, DIY, fashion, entertainment and leisure offering.

Sergio Criado, CFO at Lar España, highlighted his “satisfaction at having secured this new financing agreement, which is one of several to have been signed over the last few months, and which demonstrates the appeal of Lar España’s properties. In the case of Vidanova Parc, it also represents support for what is going to be one of the most important shopping centres in the region”.

Lar España’s investment in the project will amount to €53 million in total, in addition to the €40 million that the operators moving into the shopping centre are planning to invest. The complex will generate 1,000 jobs in total, split between direct and indirect roles, and the construction phase will create another 200 jobs.

Lar España Real Estate currently owns 31 real estate assets, whose value amounts to €1,448.2 million, of which €1,040.8 million corresponds to shopping centres, €178.6 million to office buildings, €83.3 million to logistics assets and €145.4 million to assets under construction, such as Vidanova Parc.

Original story: Observatorio Inmobiliario

Translation: Carmel Drake

Aberdeen & Catella Acquire El Manar Shopping Centre For €40M

12 July 2017 – Cinco Días

The firm Harbert Management Corporation has sold the El Manar shopping centre in Valencia for €40 million, according to sources familiar with the operation. The buyers are the companies Catella and Aberdeen, which have created a joint venture to undertake the transaction.

El Manar has a gross leasable area of 24,000 m2 and is located in the city of Massalfassar, in the metropolitan area of Valencia. According to the directory compiled by the Spanish Association of Shopping Centres, the property is managed by CBRE, was inaugurated in 2007 and comprises around twenty stores, with the Carrefour hypermarket proving to be the main draw. El Manar is also home to stores operated by Media Markt, C&A, Kiwoko, Sprinter and the toy shop Poly and it has 1,344 parking spaces. Each year, the centre receives 2.4 million visitors.

El Manar was promoted by the Pradera Group, and Harbert purchased it in 2014, in an operation whose consideration was not disclosed at the time. Three years later, the fund from Alabama has sold the asset in a deal that has been advised by CBRE and Eversheds Sutherland. Meanwhile, the buyers have been advised by the law firm Dentons.

Catella is a Swedish investment manager, which also acts as an advisor in real estate transactions. In Spain, the firm is led by Javier Hortelano.

Meanwhile, the British fund Aberdeen has €360,000 million under management around the world. In Spain, the firm is led by Ana Guzmán Quintana.

Original story: Cinco Días (by A. Simón)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Belgian Fund Ascencio Finalises Purchase Of Parque Abadía

8 November 2016 – Expansión

The Spanish real estate market is starting to welcome new players. After two years during which opportunistic funds and Spanish Socimis have been responsible for the lion’s share of investment operations, 2016 has seen several institutional investors and companies enter the market.

Such is the case of Ascencio. The listed Belgian real estate company (SIR, according to its French acronym), which specialises in well-located commercial assets with first-rate tenants, has decided to place its focus on Spain.

After years focusing on the Belgian market (where 62% of its assets are located) and France (which accounts for 33% of its portfolio), Ascencio arrived in Spain in March with the purchase of three premises in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, leased to the chain Worten, owned by the Sonae group. In this first operation, Ascencio spent €27.3 million, a figure that it is going to almost triple with its second transaction in Spain, given that the Belgian firm is the favourite to buy the Parque Abadía retail complex in Toledo.

Parque Abadía, which has a surface area of 64,000 m2, is the most important retail establishment in the province. With a retail surface area covering more than 54,000 m2, its main tenants include Alcampo, Decathlon, Media Markt, C&A, Conforama, Kiabi, Merkal and Norauto. Leroy Merlin also operates and owns a store in the complex, which has a surface area of more than 9,000 m2.

Inaugurated in November 2011, the retail complex has 2,680 parking spaces. Last year, Parque Abadía received more than six million visitors, and that figure is expected to be even higher in 2016.

Several investment funds and Socimis have expressed their interest in the property. Nevertheless, Ascencio’s offer, amounting to €80 million, is the best positioned, say sources close to the process.

The vendor is the British fund Rockspring, which has been focusing its investments in Spain on logistics centres in recent months, including the purchase of assets as well as the development of new establishments.

The sale of Parque Abadía is expected to be closed before the end of the year, according to sources in the market. Ascencio currently has funds amounting to €600 million to invest in the three European markets in which it has a presence, and has named Spain as its primary focus.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Incus Capital Finalises Sale Of 4 Shopping Centres

25 October 2016 – Expansión

Three years after arriving in the Spanish real estate market, the fund Incus Capital is getting ready to divest its positions, and whereby benefit from the boom in the market and reap the rewards of the investments it has made in shopping centres. Specifically, the fund is finalising the sale of four shopping centres for a total consideration of €150 million.

Incus is holding exclusive negotiations with Deutsche Bank regarding the sale of the Alcalá Magna shopping centre, located in the Madrilenian municipality of Alcalá de Henares, for €100 million. The German entity is turning its attention to these types of assets once again, after starring in the largest acquisition in the market so far this year with its purchase of Diagonal Mar (in Barcelona) for almost €500 million.

Profits

From the sale of Alcalá Magna, Incus Capital will generate significant profits just two years after acquiring the asset. Incus Capital bought Alcalá Magna for almost €82 million from the investment fund CBRE RPPSE, managed by CBRE Global Investors, in the summer of 2014. Alcalá Magna, which opened in 2007, has almost 100 retail units and a gross leasable surface area (GLA) of 35,000 m2.

The commercial complex, designed by the international studio Chapman Taylor, has many high profile tenants, including Zara, C&A, Cortefiel, Mercadona and Massimo Dutti.

In addition to Alcalá Magna, Incus Capital is going to sell another three shopping centres that it currently holds in its portfolio, namely: El Mirador de Cuenca, Alzamora in Alcoy (Alicante) and Los Alcores in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Sevilla). To this end, Incus is holding exclusive negotiations with the British fund Patron to sell those three assets for a combined price of almost €50 million. The operation is expected to close in December.

Incus was constituted in 2012 and its purchase of these three assets from Morgan Stanley for almost €30 million (80% less than Morgan Stanley paid for them in 2007) represented its first real estate operation in the country. El Mirador de Cuenca, inaugurated in November 2002, has a retail surface area of 24,723 m2 spread over four floors (two retail and two parking).

Los Alcores, which opened its doors in August 2003 in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Sevilla), has two shopping floors and one car park. Its two main tenants are Eroski and Cinesur. Meanwhile, Alzamora, which was inaugurated in Alcoy (Alicante) in October 2003, has three shopping floors, a Supercor and almost 600 parking spaces.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Lar España Invests €53M In Shopping Centre In Sagunto

29 September 2016 – Mis Locales

Lar España Real Estate has presented its plans for “VidaNova Parc”, a new project in which it plans to invest €53 million and which will open its doors in 2018.

VidaNova Parc has been presented with a surface area of 120,000 sqm, of which 44,000 sqm corresponds to the gross leasable area and the rest to open spaces, roads, gardens and parking spaces. It is being created to bridge a gap in the current market and will become a unique shopping centre and family leisure complex in its immediate environment. Around 250,000 inhabitants live in its catchment area (…).

Lar España’s investment in the project is expected to amount to €53 million, in addition to another €40 million that the operators moving into the shopping centre will have to invest. The complex will open its doors in 2018.

The site has a leasable surface area of 44,000 sqm.

With the launch of the construction work at VidaNova Parc, the first operators in the main consumer sectors have already been confirmed, including Leroy Merlín, Decathlon, C&A, Worten, Norauto, Burger King and Fifty Factory (Cortefiel Group). They will be joined by more than thirty brands….in this new shopping centre and leisure park. In addition, the centre will have 2,300 parking spaces.

José Manuel Llovet, Head of the Retail Area at Lar España Real Estate, has highlighted the strong presence of the company in the country through its ten shopping and leisure centres and the two projects that it has under construction. “Our mission, which is a major business priority, is to consolidate our activity in Spain; we want to grow with it, generate wealth, promote employment, and whereby boost the sector and innovate in the field of shopping and leisure”.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake

C&A: First Victim Of Primark’s Gran Vía Megastore

16 September 2016 – Cinco Días

The Dutch fashion retailer C&A has closed its store on Madrid’s Gran Vía, 48 because “it was not profitable”, according to sources at the firm. The premises, which have a surface area of 2,500 sqm and are located very close to the central Plaza de Callao, closed its doors for the last time on 31 August, according to the portal Modaes.es. It is the first victim of the mammoth Primark store, which first opened its doors on the street in 2015.

The C&A megastore first opened its doors to the public in October 2013, occupying a newly constructed building on the corner of Gran Vía and Calle Tudescos, on the site that previously housed the headquarters of Banco Atlántico. The property, which is 45m tall, was designed by the architect Rafael De La Hoz and represented the first new building on the Madrilenian avenue since 1932.

The Dutch firm leased the first floor of the building. “The store was not big enough to allow us to display all of our collections”, say sources at the firm. The rest of the property was dedicated to luxury homes and apartments. “Gran Vía was an innovative concept. It was the most modern store at the time”, said the sources. The owner of the commercial premises where the C&A store was located was the German real estate management fund GLL Real Estate, which acquired the site two years ago in an operation advised by the property consultant Aguirre Newman.

The arrival of the Irish chain Primark in Gran Vía in October 2015 has caused a revolution on the iconic Madrilenian Avenue. A real commercial rebirth, after several years when we saw mythical premises, as well as several cinemas close their doors. Rental prices in the area are rising after the crisis, driven by the constant pilgrimage of clients to the district. C&A did not want to associate the arrival of the low-cost fashion giant with the closure of its central premises. “It has not been a determining factor”, sources assured.

The firm explained that, after three years in the premises, it was no longer profitable. “Openings and closings are part of the evolution of a retail business”, they explained. The 16 people that worked in the store have been transferred to other shops. The only store that the chain still has in the centre of Madrid is located on Calle Conde de Peñalver, number 8, in the Goya area, premises that have a surface area of almost 5,000 sqm. Following this closure, the chain “does not rule out” opening other stores in the area, but it has not signed any deals.

The fashion chain, controlled by Cofra Holding – the investment group owned by the Brenninkmeijer family – has more than 2,000 stores in 23 countries and almost 60,000 employees all over the world. In 2015, the Spanish subsidiary, led by Domingo Esteves, reported losses of €10.6 million, a significant improvement compared to 2014, when it lost €41.1 million. Its turnover amounted to €363.1 million. The firm has more than one hundred stores across Spain. It will inaugurate its next store in the Fan Mallorca Shopping Centre, which is due to open on 22 September.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Eduardo Loren García)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills: RE Inv’t In Retail Parks Reaches Historical Peak

3 May 2016 – Mis Locales

Retail parks are sparking interest in the real estate investment market in Spain. In 2015, investment in this type of asset amounted to €500 million, i.e. seven times more than in 2014. In the context of total retail investment, that figure represented 21% of total volumes in 2015 and accounted for 20% of the total amount invested in this segment since 2000, according to a specialist report about the market, which the international consultancy firm Savills publishes each year.

So far this year, investment in retail parks already amounts to €122 million, i.e. 18% of the total amount invested in the retail sector. Although the majority of that figure relates to the sale of six retail parks by Bogaris to the JV created by Redevco and Ares for €95 million, Luis Espadas, Capital Markets Director for Savills Spain, says that “this operation is evidence of the interest being generated by these types of assets, which are attracting both new profiles of investors and new property developers. The investment figures registered so far this year exceed those recorded during the same period in 2015.”

From the point of view of real estate investors, this sector, which generates returns of 6% for prime products and which is prone to decrease due to the imbalance between supply and demand, is very interesting in the context of the recovery in consumption, given that it requires only moderate investment volume and generates higher levels of profitability than for other retail products. Moreover, it is “safe”, due to the quality of its tenants and the fact that it barely requires any management following the purchase.

Retail space in retail parks, just over 1.85 million sqm, now accounts for 12.5% of the retail real estate market and construction activity is continuing to grow, boosted above all by traditional domestic players in this segment in the retail sector, although other investor profiles, such as the Socimis, have also started to develop retail parks, such as the complex that Grupo Lar has announced that it will construct in Sagunto. In addition, international property developers are expected to enter the market, especially from France, to actively seek out land.

According to the consultancy firm, all of this will boost investment forecasts, on the one hand, along with the arrival of new operators to the format in the retail sector, on the other hand.

For the time being, the expansion plans of operators familiar with this format, such as Leroy Merlin, which expects to open 25 new stores between now and 2020; Ikea, with new formats such as the new delivery point in Navarra; Media Markt, Sprinter and supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi, as well as the entry into retail parks of less typical brands, such as H&M, C&A and Mustang, are proof of the consolidation of the retail park segment. (…).

The report also identifies which provinces have the greatest potential for the construction of retail parks, based on retail density and the spending capacity of each population. País Vasco, Cataluña, the Balearic Islands and Castilla León are the regions with the most suitable provinces for this business niche.

Original story: Mis Locales

Translation: Carmel Drake